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This week Anne, Rachel and John are joined by two special guests to discuss the politics of mental health. What are the main initiatives in mental health policy? What do the different political parties have to say? Are there even any meaningful differences between them? And does the recent Mental Health Act Review move us forward? To help us think though these questions we had some help from Akiko Hart and Mark Brown, two people far more involved in political conversations than we are. We also have an interview with our colleague, child psychologist Trish Joscelyne, who takes us through the changing landscape of children’s mental health.

John McGowan gives a quick psychological tour of some coming-of-age classics

Our term is up and running in Tunbridge Wells and our Clinical Psychology doctorate course has recently welcomed a new group. When our students start we don’t plunge them instantly into the world of mental health, but instead spend a few weeks thinking about the different phases of life. What make us who we are? What helps or hurts us as we develop? What are the challenges of growing older? We do sometimes write about films on this blog which prompted me to reflect on which are the most psychologically acute movies about growing up? Which ones illustrate, maybe without even realising it, psychological theories of development? Which ones make you cringe with recognition? Here is my top ten.

John McGowan talks to six clinical psychology trainees just about to qualify

Every September we say goodbye to a qualifying cohort of our clinical psychology trainees. They’ve been with us for three years and it’s always a pongiant moment. This year John McGowan sat down with six of our leavers to talk about their hope for qualified life and the challenges of planning a career in public service. The discussion ranged from the kind of teams they want to work in to whether health services are always the best place to help people. We’d like to thank all of the participants: Abi Davison-Jenkins, Marguerite Gallagher, Helen Layton, Rebecca Newman, Hannah Prytherch and Owen Thompson. We’ll miss you!

With England having a rare penalty win in the World Cup, John McGowan considers what shoot-outs tells us about national prowess .

Though football is, perhaps briefly, looking like it’s coming home, until recently there seemed an inevitability about England bombing if a match came down to penalties. Now, not only have Columbia been vanquished from the spot, but manager Gareth Southgate seems on the road to redemption following past ignominy. This could all end very abruptly of course, and spirits of Waddle, Pearce, Cole and Southgate (1996 version) may yet rise up again in pizza adverts and infamy. We are all too familiar with pessimism, rising to inflated expectations, punctured by a lacklustre performance. The the curseoftheshoot-out may yet strike again. Football, and penalties in particular, seem inextricable bound up with and English sense of being on top or, rather more frequently, a story of national decline.So is England’s penalty history a good guide to our national excellence?

This week Alex Hassett discusses how brain research may help us understand the teenagers in our lives

In this podcast we have the audio from our most recent public lecture. Our own Dr Alex Hassett talks about understanding an often mysterious and sometimes troubling group for many of us: teenagers. Drawing on recent research in neuroscience, Alex talks about key areas where teenage brains are different from adult ones, how this may help to explain some very familiar behaviours and, crucially, how the rest of us can respond helpfully.